Offered big bucks to coach elsewhere Bert van Marwijk picked the Socceroos. Here’s why

SOCCEROOS coach Bert van Marwijk turned down at least $15m to coach Saudi Arabia at the World Cup before accepting the brief to lead Australia in Russia for less than 10 per cent of the reward.

SOCCEROOS coach Bert van Marwijk turned down at least $15m to coach Saudi Arabia at the World Cup before accepting the brief to lead Australia in Russia for less than 10 per cent of the reward.

Dutchman van Marwijk, who led Holland to the World Cup final in 2010, turned his back on Saudi Arabia after leading them to qualification despite the mind-boggling offer to stay on.

Instead he accepted the challenge of replacing Ange Postecoglou through to the end of the World Cup for just $1.4m, having been approached to enact a short-notice operation after Postecoglou quit.

NewsCorp can reveal that the Saudi government was prepared to bankroll the huge contract for van Marwijk, after he had dramatically quit the Saudi job in protest at perceived interference in his staff and the way he would run the team at the World Cup.

But despite repeated entreaties from the government to reverse his decision, van Marwijk refused to countenance the incredible offer, and was expecting to miss the World Cup until Australian officials contacted him in January to see if he was interested in replacing Postecoglou.

“I have to have a good feeling when I take a new job; when I don’t have it, I will not do that job, in spite of everything,” van Marwijk told NewsCorp last week, hinting at the clashes which provoked his departure from the Saudi position.

“I’m glad I go to the World Cup with Australia, and I want to do as good as possible. I work hard and prepare well, everything goes the way I like.”

Though his Australian contract is a lucrative deal in pro rata terms, on what is a five-month contract, it pales beside what he could have earned had he remained in charge of the Saudi team.

Ironically the squad he quit was humiliated in the opening game of the World Cup on Thursday night, losing 5-0 to hosts Russia in a game that has sparked interest in the tournament from locals.

Van Marwijk made his reputation in world football by leading a Dutch team perceived as historically weak to the final in 201, beating Brazil along the way, and only losing to pre-tournament favourites Spain via a goal with minutes left.

Australia begins its World Cup campaign against France tonight [Sat] before playing Demark on June 21 and Peru on June 26, with the bookmakers making the Socceroos outsiders to qualify from their group.

If they do, they are likely to face Argentina in the Round of 16.

ANALYSIS BY TOM SMITHIES

IT was instinct that brought Bert van Marwijk to the Socceroos, and it’s instinct that he has tried to teach the Australian players in the short time he has had with them.

Instinct made him walk away from Saudi Arabia when he had led them to qualify for the World Cup, even when they offered him obscene amounts to stay, north of $15 million.

Instinct made the man who took Holland to the World Cup final in 2010 accept a very different assignment for the 2018 tournament in replacing Ange Postecoglou.

“I have to have a good feeling when I take a new job; when I don’t have it, I will not do that job, in spite of everything,” van Marwijk said.

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Australia's coach Bert van Marwijk wants the Socceroos to have respect but not be impressed by their superstar opponents.

But his instinct told him Australia was a challenge he needed to accept, and the weeks since have been spent trying to ready the Socceroos for the challenge of facing France — tactically, of course, but mentally as well.

In a World Cup stadium, in front of a big crowd, and most of all against footballing superstars, the best-laid plans can stall. So who van Marwijk picks, and how they line-up, is driven by the need to be ready for the opening whistle Saturday night.

“That is a good question,” he said. “We trained a lot in all of the situations that can happen. How we want to build up, how is the transition when you lose the ball, how are we standing when the opponent has the ball, where we press.

“But one of the most important things in my experience, playing against a country like France, is that you must be yourself. It’s easier to say than in practice.

“You have to have the guts to play and be yourself. My experience with the Dutch team (in 2010), is that when suddenly Pogba is standing in front of you or Griezmann, and Mbappe and the big fullbacks Mendy and Sidibe, you must not be impressed.

“You can have respect but you must not be impressed. You must be yourself. Normally you get that feeling when you get the experience.”

The unanswerable question is whether the players have taken on board his message sufficiently to have a prospect of repelling the French, one of the favourites to actually win the whole thing.

“When you ask me now, I say yes — but it can change on the pitch,” he said. “It’s so simple to say, ‘Be yourself’, but in practice it’s very difficult.

“We must be ready. We don’t have any chance to do something else. We have to be ready. I knew that from the beginning.

“When I see the development of the players from the first few days (in camp) until now, it’s a big difference. They developed, they improved, and we will see if it’s enough.”

Most of all, he doesn’t want them left with a feeling of “if only”. As the countdown to the World Cup has intensified, so the TV replays of the 2010 final his Dutch side lost to Spain have intensified — including Arjen Robben’s missed chance to win the game.

“After that same, everyone was disappointed,” he said. “But I had disappointment at losing one game. You prepare for that game, do everything to win; when you lose you are disappointed.

“But (the feeling of) losing the World Cup — that comes later. I never think about it — until I see it on television, and I see the chance of Robben. Then it all comes back.”

Originally published as Offered big bucks to coach elsewhere Bert van Marwijk picked the Socceroos. Here’s why